If you want to buy or sell things online, you've got a lot of choices. Until recently, however, there haven't been many options for those who want a more secure, anonymous, decentralized way of doing P2P business online. Now there's BitBay, a blockchain-based marketplace that allows people to buy and sell things without any third party, without the need for trusting the other user (through escrow), and without the need to expose your information online if you don't want do.

Once abandoned by some of its originators, BitBay has been worked on slowly for the past couple years, and remains one of the only decentralized marketplaces to be found online.

How BitBay Works

BitBay works a lot like other online marketplaces like Ebay (hence the name). Users offer things for sale (anything from musical instruments to digital assets to parcels of land), agree on a price, and set up a smart contract to execute the deal – the buyer puts up their money and the seller puts up the item, and only when all agreed-up conditions have been met does the transaction go through.

More transactions equals more “reputation” points, and the more points you have, the more people will be willing to do business with you.

The platform has no fees, and all transactions are paid for in BAY, the native token of the platform.

The Double Deposit Escrow System

Doing a deal with a total stranger comes with its own possible problems, which is why centralized platforms like Ebay are there to settle any disputes. But how do you do that on a decentralized platform?

BitBay's answer is Double Deposit Escrow. Both parties put up a certain amount of BAY in escrow, which is held by the platform until the transaction is complete and both parties are satisfied. If one party has a problem with the transaction, the tokens won't be given back to either party – until it's resolved, that is. This way, no one has any motivation to cause trouble or act in bad faith.

The amount you put up in escrow goes down as you reputation level improves, as a reward for a history of good transactions.

Stability in Prices

BitBay has addressed Bay price stability in a unique way. How? The amount of BAY in circulation changes according to changes in its valuation – if its price starts going down, the amount in circulation will lower, creating the circumstances for it to go up slightly and even out. The reverse is also the case. This means you can be sure you won't end up with a coin that will have any chance of immediately depreciating after you buy it.

BitBay's Security Measures

BitBay has features in place to make sure people have all the security options they could need. One feature is the multisignature option, which allows you to create a wallet that can only be used when all parties on the wallet sign in and approve transactions. They've also integrated BitBay with The Onion Router (TOR) to anonymize IP addresses and make sure people's identities are kept totally secret.

Even better, they've integrated an on-screen keyboard for entering sensitive information – so you don't need to worry about having your password stolen by a keylogger.

Other Features

BitBay wants to make sure it stays at the front of blockchain feature integration. They've included time lock contracts and atomic swaps for currencies (so that you can exchange between different cryptocurrencies without added time or network congestion). Although BitBay has been around since 2019, they weren't content to stay there – these state-of-the-art features make sure BitBay has the capabilities that other newer blockchain platforms have implemented.

The Team Behind BitBay

As we mentioned before, the first developers of BitBay split after they made off with investors' money. The project's technical adviser, David Zimbeck, was devastated. Nevertheless, he stayed on and devoted himself to the project almost entirely alone, with the exception of other part-time developers who would come on from time to time to help out.

Since then the team has grown from 1 member to 5, and the team is truly international, with members from as far as Mexico and Norway.

The passion that Zimbeck had for the project was the only thing that kept it from sinking all those years ago.

The BAY Token

BAY is the token that's used for all transactions on the platform. Not only is it used for buying and selling items, but it's also used for putting up escrow in the double deposit escrow system BitBay utilizes.

The price of BAY tanked right after the original founders made off like thieves, damaging the reputation of the project and causing many people to pull out. The price made a bit of a comeback, though, hitting almost $0.50 in late June of 2019, sinking, rising to about $0.38 in January of 2019, and then settling down again to where it is now (around $0.07).

Buying BAY

Right now the best places to buy BAY are Bittrex and Upbay. Two other exchanges trade in it, but they don't have a very high volume of trade. If you're looking for a coin to trade for in fiat, you're out of luck here: the only coin you can trade for BAY is Bitcoin. If you don't already have any Bitcoin, you'll have to go to an exchange that trades fiat for Bitcoin and then deposit the BTC in your Bittrex or Upbay wallets, and then exchange for BAY.

Storing BAY

The BAY is ERC-20-compliant, meaning it can be stored on a number of popular services. It can be stored on MyEtherWallet, the most popular Ethereum-based wallet online. If you want more security, you can go for the Trezor or Ledger Nano S, both of which are hardware wallets that can be disconnected from the internet and set up with pincodes and passphrases for added levels of protection and safety.

BitBay vs Syscoin

These platforms have some similarities. Both are decentralized platforms that allow people to trade and buy and sell in marketplaces. Both promise no (or low) fees, and have their own coins. BitBay has a system of double deposit escrow to prevent any disputes arising, while Syscoin allows people to designate a third party to act as arbitrator. Syscoin offers an encrypted messaging service, while it isn't clear if BitBay will or not. Syscoin has been in development for a lot less time and seems to be pretty far ahead, while BitBay has been out longer and seems to have fewer features. BitBay offers anonymity via TOR, while Syscoin doesn't.

BitBay vs Coinbase

These are slightly different platforms. BitBay is a decentralized marketplace for buying and selling items, while Coinbase is more of a wallet that also acts as an exchange, one that focuses on trading cryptocurrencies. BitBay has its own coin, while Coinbase doesn't (although they're supposed to have one soon for usage in their new messaging option). BitBay's transactions are conducted in its own currency, while Coinbase trades in other currencies (specifically Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Ethereum). Coinbase has insurance, while BitBay doesn't appear to.

BitBay vs SAFEX

These are similar platforms. Both are exchanges that deal with buying and selling goods for cryptocurrencies. Both have their own tokens which are used in conducting business. BitBay has been out longer, and SAFEX is younger, but SAFEX isn't very far along and is soon going to only be in beta. BitBay, on the other hand, currently functions and has a number of features that SAFEX doesn't, like double escrow and TOR-powered anonymity for security and user privacy. Both coins are trading low, but BitBay is trading a couple cents higher.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is BitBay a market?Yes, it's a decentralized online marketplace.

Is BitBay an exchange?
Not technically, although it has implemented atomic swaps for currency exchange.

Do you know where to buy BitBay?
On Upbit, Bittrex, and Cryptopia.

Where can I read BitBay news?
On Reddit, Medium, or Twitter.

Can I use BitBay in India?
Sure, we don't see why not.

Do BitBay have a wallet?Yes.

Is BitBay a cryptocurrency?
Yes, its token can be bought and traded for value.

What is the BitBay coin called?BAY.

What is BitBay?
It's a decentralized online marketplace.

Is BitBay on Reddit?
Yes, there's a community talking about it there.

Are there fees for using BitBay?No.

Is there a BitBay app?Yes.

Where can I read a BitBay review?You already are! You can check out others on Medium and Reddit, we would think.

What's the supply of BitBay?About 1 million BAY.

Does BitBay have a Twitter?Yes.

Conclusion

Alternatives to traditional internet institutions are sprouting up every couple months, and now that some of these blockchain-based projects are coming to fruition, the advantages of blockchain technology are plainly seen, from user privacy to anonymity to the usage of smart contracts to eliminate the need for arbitration in disputes. BitBay had a rough start, and it's not the only decentralized marketplace out there, but with the features they've implemented and the promise of a zero-fee platform, users might end up streaming to use BitBay as their primary crypto-based web market. It'll just take a bit more action from BitBay's developers, a better PR strategy, and some partnerships, but we believe they have it in them to succeed.

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